Psychotic  Episode 1: Rising Star
by Glod
Summary: A new magician comes to the attention of the Justice League and promises to be nothing but trouble!
1. Conversations

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Conversations**

"YOU LIE, DEVIL, YOU LIE!"

---

"I can't believe she's quoting the Crucible. It hardly seems appropriate."

"I dunno. I guess if you're clinically insane a red flash may suggest itself to your mind as the devil."

"But, come on- the Crucible?"

"Ok, I will admit, that shows a little too much dedication to her homework."

---

"FEEL MY WRATH! MY FURY! MY RAGE!"

---

"Way too many cartoons there."

"You said it."

---

"Where'd this kid come from? Are they growing magicians on trees these days?"

"She looks young enough to – "

" – still be in school"

"And what are those two kids doing behind her? The two boys- they've still got their school back packs! Flash, where do you find these people?"

"I don't - "

" – find them. They find me. Must be my charming personality."

---

"LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU ALL! I- THE… hey, Tommy, you're good with names. What should I call myself?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me Tommy, I need a name. I can't be anonymous. That'd make me sound like some silly poem."

"Yeah… Jay, you do realise you're completely insane?"

"Tommy, that's not helping. Come on, I'm fighting the Flash and Green Arrow here. I can't do that without a proper name. I mean, their names are so cool. I'd be embarrassing them if I didn't come up with an equally interesting one."

"How about Psychotic?"

"Tommy, I feel you are trying to make a pointed remark. I –"

---

"Oh come on, Green Arrow. She was in the middle of a conversation. Shooting her with tear gas was hardly fair."

"She's a mentally unstable school kid with magic powers, and she's trying to wreck a mall. Explain to me how neutralizing her is 'unfair'?"

---

"THINK YE SUCH SIMPLE METHODS AS – you say it was tear gas Charlie? Charlie? Hmm… - AS TEAR GAS WOULD SERVE TO STOP ME? I AM PSYCHOTIC!"

"See? The name suits you to a t, Jay."

"It does, thank you Tommy."

---

"It didn't work!"

"What gave you the hint? The glowing girl – "

"- or the fountain she just threw at us?"

"Why is she doing this?"

---

"CURSE THESE HALLS OF SOCEITAL DEMISE! CURSE ALL THOSE WHO FREQUENT IT! CURSE THOSE WHO THINK IT THE EPITOME OF ALL THAT IS DESIRABLE IN THE WORLD! LET'S SEE YOU BUY YOUR PRADA BAGS NOW, KATE MULLINS, WITH NO PRADA SHOP TO GET IT FROM!"

---

"Ah, that explains a lot."

"I don't get it."

"It begins with 'B' and ends with 'ullied'."

"So she's getting revenge?"

"It's always revenge, Flash."

---

"She's trying to get back at Kate Mullins?"

"What gave you the clue, Charlie?"

"How is wrecking the mall supposed to – NO! Jay, I get my games there!"

"Charlie, can you get any sadder?"

"Shut up, Tommy, she just destroyed my life."

---

"So how do we stop her?"

"I didn't want to do this– "

"If you could speed by and knock her out, why exactly didn't you do this at the start?"

"Hit a girl? Green Arrow, you wound me!"

"How many female villains do we knock out every day?"

"OK, you got me. She's hot, I wanted her number. Couldn't get that with her unconscious. Stop staring at me like that."

"That's not funny. Well, it's not like this country needs another mall anyway. Now let's go see what those boys know."

---

"We don't know, Green Arrow, sir. She called us and told us to meet her at the mall. Then she just went ballistic, sir."

"So she's never thrown magic around before?"

"No, sir. This is the first time we've ever seen her do anything supernatural."

"We'll just have to question her when she wakes up. Does she have any parents we could talk to?"

"She a foster kid, sir. Old Maggie Lawrence takes care of her, but she's out of town for the week. Left Jay on her own this week."

"We're taking her to the watch tower- she's too dangerous to leave here. Do you two have homes to get to?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I suggest you go."

"Yes, sir."

---

"That was freaky."

"Tommy, I got to talk to the Green Arrow!"

"Flash would have been cooler."

"I got to talk to one of the Justice League!"

"Yeah, Charlie, I know. I was there. Do you think she'll be alright?"

"She's psychotic, Tommy. You said so yourself. And she wrecked the mall- she'd have been gone in another month anyway. Forget about her."

"Yeah."

---

"Where am I?"

"That was the single most original thing ever said on waking up."

"Flash! For once in your life, stop joking."

"Fine, fine, I'll leave."

"What… what's happening? What did…what did I do?"

"You manifested magic powers. You wrecked a mall. Don't you remember?"

"I… I remember being really angry. I… I just wanted to talk to Tommy."

"Tell me what happened."

"I don't… I don't know…"

"Try to remember."

"Kate Mullins called me worthless. Said I was worth less than a fake Prada… I…"

"Does this Kate always put you down?"

"It never bothers me. She doesn't know what I can do… the little things I do every day. I wish I could help everyone else without helping her."

"Help everyone?"

"Like when that water pipe was going to blow… but I stopped it. Nobody knew of course, they couldn't tell. And I fixed it. And when Jack Rinnel was going to blow up the chem lab… I just made it fizzle out…My head hurts so much…"

"What was that?"

"My head… I just want to sleep."

"Then go to sleep. Don't worry. We'll sort this out when you wake up."

---

"What do you think, Zatanna?"

"Magic powers manifesting- it sounds like she's been using it for years, but I think her powers just went up a level. Kind of like puberty- but for power. And as with puberty, you get all the associated uncontrollable mood swings. She hasn't been taught any control."

"And where would she learn control?"

"I could teach her. She'd have to stay somewhere safe in the meantime. Somewhere I could find her, to teach her."

"That can be arranged."

"Good. That's sorted then?"

"It's sorted."

"Good."


	2. Halves

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Halves**

"Now just carefully lift the box. That's right, gently lift it, a little at a time. Now hold it there… keep it as still as you can, Jay, just another minute. That's right... wait, where's it going? Where's it- Xob Nwod!"

"Sorry!" Jay sighed, and then echoed herself. "Sorry."

_Shut up, already. Only one of us needs to be here._

_Why does it have to be you?_

"Sorry Zatanna! I spaced out for a minute there! What were you saying?" Jay snapped herself back to the present.

Zatanna laughed her full throated laugh. "I was just saying that you don't have to be sorry- that you've come a long way. And that we should call it a day and get some coffee and some food. We've done enough for the morning!"

Jay shrugged, then headed out of one of the many training rooms of the Justice League Watchtower grabbing a towel and wiping off some of the sweat she'd accumulated during the training session. Maintaining concentration for two hours really took it out of a girl.

"I'll change and meet you in the cafeteria!" Jay called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

Jay made her way expertly through the curved corridors of the Watchtower, going up a few levels and slipping quietly into a door that swished open at the touch of her hand. She had her own room up here, where she was alone and where no-one could see or hear her. Where she could just _think_.

---

Zatanna has a beautiful smile, and she's not shy about letting it out. I think that's incredible- having that ability to crack a smile so often. Having the _wish_ to crack a smile so often. All her encouragement really cheers me up. It makes me want to work that much harder, to prove to her and to myself that all her enthusiasm isn't going to waste. It's so nice of her to even agree to teach me control of my magic. She's been up here at the Justice League Watchtower every morning for the last two weeks, and she says she's going to keep coming up here till I've achieved complete control. Till I only do things I mean to do instead of everything that flits through my mind.

It's starting to work. Maybe when it does, one of me can go away.

_I don't think we'd be us if one of us weren't here._

I've been up at the Watchtower for two weeks now. Two weeks exploring possibly the most incredible place in the universe. It's full of superheroes. Everywhere you go, there they are. The people I've only ever read about before, having lunch around me, complaining about the dessert, training, talking, living.

_It's so cool! _

I wish I could get as excited as my situation deserves.

_You're just boring. But that's ok, I'm getting excited enough for the both of us._

_You always get excited enough for the both of us._

_Well, one of us has to. _

_---_

"And one of us has to stay in control." Jay mumbled as she finished changing into some fresh clothes and toweling her hair. She'd become used to keeping her conversations quiet- she'd learnt the hard way that people thought it was weird to talk to yourself.

Giving her hair a quick brush, she let herself out again and made her way to the cafeteria. She kept her head down and her eyes on the ground, avoiding any eye contact, and moving as quietly as possible. The fewer people that noticed her, the better things would be.

It didn't take her long to get to the cafeteria. Jay had very little to do, apart from the morning lessons with Zatanna. And up on the Watchtower, if you didn't make yourself heard people very quickly got too busy to remember you were around. That suited Jay fine- she got to spend her days exploring, finding all the shortcuts and generally learning the ins and outs of the Justice League headquarters. And if the outside half of her did all of this with cool calculation, the other half of her took childish glee in the activity.

Jay sidled in to the cafeteria, sticking to the edges of the doorway, looking quickly around till she spotted Zatanna, sitting at a table off in a corner with two steaming cups in front of her.

_That is so sweet! Isn't that sweet? She knows how much you hate the centre! _

Jay smiled softly to herself in reply and made her way to Zatanna, skirting round the edges of the room. Zatanna looked up and smiled as Jay sat down beside her, and reached for one of the cups.

"Hot chocolate, because you like it!" Zatanna announced as she handed a paper cup over. Jay nodded in acknowledgement.

_Oh for the love of- Get lost, I'm taking over._

"Thank you so much! That's so sweet of you to remember!" Jay's entire aspect changed from one moment to the next. Zatanna blinked. Jay had broken out a huge grin, one that seemed to light up her chocolate brown skin with a soft glow of happiness. Suddenly she was a cheerful, confident young woman, instead of the cautious one Zatanna had been training all morning. Zatanna squinted at Jay, trying to decide how she'd changed. Jay just continued to smile innocently back.

"You're very welcome." Zatanna murmured.

"So, how's showbiz down there?" Jay asked, enthusiastically.

"It's going well." Jay's switches were amazing. She was either quiet and introverted, or extroverted and… 'enthused' was the best word to describe it.

"That's great! Don't you think Earth is just so much prettier from up here?"

It wasn't lost on Zatanna how quickly Jay changed subjects when she was like this. As if she had so much to say and only a very limited amount of time to say it in. It was quite the riddle. But Zatanna didn't have time to figure it out right now.

"Earth is pretty just about anywhere you are. You just have to look a little harder in some places. But Jay, I need you to focus for a few more minutes. There are a couple of things we need to talk about."

And there Bubbly Jay went. Her smile switched off, like there was an internal button that controlled it. The glow disappeared, her shoulders hunched in and she seemed to gather anonymity around her.

"What is it?" Jay asked, caution settling deep in her eyes.

"Well, firstly I just wanted to tell you that you really have improved a lot since we started. I think you had a lot of control before you went... well, before the mall. You just don't have much stamina, probably because you're not used to using magic for such long periods of time. You should try doing more with magic- moving chairs, laundry, that sort of thing. It'll get you used to using it for longer periods of time."

Jay nodded in acknowledgement. Zatanna got the feeling Jay was taking notes mentally.

"And the other thing is your schooling. You're what, half a semester from finishing high school?"

"I just need to take my exams, if that's what you're asking. I'm sure my school in Central City will let me come back to sit for the tests if you ask them to. The headmistress liked me well enough- or she did before I pulled that stunt."

Zatanna narrowed her eyes. Jay seemed almost desperate not to have to return to school, though she tried to cover that up with an indifferent attitude. But deep in her eyes there was a little spark of fear, and she held herself taut, as if expecting a blow.

"I… I think that would be a great arrangement, actually." Zatanna said, watching carefully to see how Jay took it. The sudden release of tension in Jay's shoulders, and the hint of a smile pulling at the corners of Jay's mouth were enough to convince Zatanna that she'd made the right choice. "I'll sort it out. Just make sure you've studied!"

Jay nodded agreement.

---

_Zatanna is the best! Not only is she teaching us, but now we don't ever have to go back down there!_

_We have to go do the tests._

_But after that, we don't _ever_ have to go back. _


	3. Thoughts

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Thoughts**

I am so psyched. I'm not sure if this is a good thing.

_It's a good thing._

I have finished my last exam! I don't ever have to go back down to Earth! Literally- I can stay up here in this Watchtower and disappear quietly into the woodwork.

_Metal framework._

_Whatever. _

I would say it's been a stressful week –

_Except that I have a photographic memory, so we spent less time studying than we did in exams. _

It's the beginning of a new era! A new dawn!

_Same old clichés._

_---_

Jay rolled over on her queen sized bed. She'd never lived in such luxury, but the last month and a half had been different. She lived in the Justice League Watchtower now, she trained daily with Zatanna, and she argued with herself more than she'd ever done before in her life. Mostly because she had more time to.

Jay closed her eyes and listened to herself think.

---

I have more control on my magic than I've ever had in my life! And it's so much stronger than it was before. Ever since the mall, which is what started all of this. I can't decide if it was a bad thing that happened to me, or a good one.

_We tore apart a shopping mall. I think in most circles that would be considered bad._

I still don't know what happened that day. Zatanna says it was magic puberty, but that doesn't explain why I would do something so out of character.

_Why _we_ would do things so out of character. I have no idea what happened either. _

Usually when I zone out my alter-ego takes over.

_I am not your 'alter-ego', thank you very much. I'm as much you as you are. _

_You and I are two different people._

_No, we're just different parts of the same person._

I can't dispute that.

_I know you can't. _

---

Jay frowned as she rolled off the bed and stood abruptly. It was a large room, the bed in the centre, the furniture minimalist and stark. Not her own choice of décor, but she didn't have any money to go shopping. And she didn't want to bring attention to herself by asking for either the money, or to be transported back down to spend it. At the moment, the only person who seemed to pay any attention to her was Zatanna, and if Jay had anything to do with it, it would stay that way. If the rest of them forgot she was here, maybe she could stay. She had nowhere else to go.

Jay made her way to the window, which spanned across an entire wall of the room. The curvature was almost imperceptible, and the view was breathtaking. Stars, thousands of them, scattering the universe in sparkles. Jay loved staring out at them. If she stood still long enough, she could pretend she was just one of the millions, a jewel in the depths of space, indistinguishable from any other.

She let her mind wander.

---

_They really are beautiful. All those stars… it takes my breath away._

I lost it. We both lost it. I can't really remember anything of what we did. I've seen the surveillance videos, and I know Flash and Green Arrow took us down. But we never lost it before. And I haven't felt anything suspicious since.

_How come we haven't seen Flash since?_

_The whole concept of 'hiding from everyone' is a little lost on you, isn't it?_

_It is not. But he took us down, and then had us brought up here. And we were rampaging in a mall in his city. Why wouldn't he ask about us, at least?_

_---_

Jay's stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since this morning, before she left to sit the last of her exams. She'd have to go pick something up from the cafeteria, but it was open all the time. All the good food might have gone, but it'd be open anyway. It would still be busy though- most of the Watchtower was busy all of the time. It made the views from the windows all the more wonderful, to compare all that stillness to the bustle inside.

Jay didn't much like the cafeteria. It was the only place to get any food, but she was always worried she'd slip up one day and start talking to herself. Then they'd find out about the two of her, and then they'd have her in a psychiatrist's office faster than she could blink. It was hard work convincing a professional that it was just 'thinking out loud', not 'conversing'.

_It's not hard work. We'd do what we always do- let me out. I'm far more normal. _

---

It's true too. My other self _is_ far more normal. She doesn't have issues with everyone and everything, and she doesn't worry about _anything_. She is also completely incapable of any kind of control on magic. Anything that goes through her head just happens.

_And there's some really weird stuff that goes through my head._

So it's me most of the time. Sensible, cautious, anxious, in-control me.

_As opposed to happy, confident, carefree me. _

_But you can never be bothered to master any kind of control._

_Why should I? You do it all. _

I guess it works out that life's just too much work for her, anyway. It's like having an irresponsible sister, but in my own head. We do well enough together. And keeping two trains of thought? It's never been a problem.

_So, why haven't we seen Flash? _

I hate me sometimes.


	4. Flash

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Flash**

Flash lounged further back in the chair. He didn't understand how he'd managed to get a night watch on the Tower- he was pretty sure he'd never seen Superman do a watch. Especially not a night watch.

The huge central control room was nearly deserted. There were a few maintenance staff on the lower level, but up here on the balcony were just a few dozen computers and an extremely bored Flash. It was only midnight, and he was already tired of just sitting there. The Flash was not accustomed to such prolonged periods of enforced stillness.

There was a quiet hiss of one of the automatic doors opening on the lower level, a sound amplified by the relative silence of the room. It took a minute for the newcomer to come into view on the lower level, but when Flash identified the girl, he leant forward for a closer look.

It was the crazy magic-wielding mall-destroyer from Central City, the one he and Green Arrow had taken down about two months back. He'd asked Batman what had become of her a couple of times, but all Bats ever said was "It's been taken care of." Usually when Bats took care of something, it was well taken care of, so Flash had let it pass.

And by 'let it pass' he of course meant 'stopped bothering Batman.'

But here she was, on the Watchtower, apparently not destroying everything in sight. That was a plus.

Flash watched as she made her way over to the panoramic view of Earth suspended in space below the Watchtower. She got as close to the wall as she could without going through it, then just stopped and stood there, as still as stone.

She didn't move _at all_. Flash watched her for the next three minutes and she didn't so much as twitch a finger that he could see. It was about as exhilarating as watching paint dry.

But since she was here…

In less time than it took him to frame the thought, Flash was down on the lower level. He slowed down half the room away from her, and walked nearer more slowly and quietly. He didn't want to startle her and get a repeat of the last time they'd met. As he got nearer he worked his way around so he could see a bit more of her profile, rather than just her back. She seemed to be deep in thought, but her lips were moving as if she was thinking out loud. The closer he got, the easier it was to make out the mumbled words.

"But I never lose complete control. Even when you're out I keep an eye on things, in case you lose control and I have to take over again." Her low mutter was laced with frustration, as if it was something she'd gone over a million times.

"I know you never lose control. But that time, you did." Her voice changed pitch, the cadence was different and the speech was clearer. Louder.

"Keep it down." She said to herself. "If we could just remember what triggered it."

She sighed in exasperation. "I've already told you what I can remember. Which is probably everything we saw! We called Tommy, we went to the mall, our mind went blank, next thing we know we're being quizzed by Zatanna. The only thing I didn't mention was the Flash Appreciation Day poster in one of the shop windows."

"Flash Appreciation Day poster?" Her voice was suddenly sharp, as if she'd picked up on something. Flash could only listen in fascination.

"Yeah, it's coming up. You know commercialism, they advertise everything months in advance. I just remember seeing it. He is so damn cute."

She made a little 'tsk' of irritation at the last, and then lapsed into silence, still frowning. Flash just stared. If he wasn't completely mistaken he'd just watched a young woman have an entire conversation with her self. He started to rethink the wisdom of disturbing her, since she obviously wasn't as stable as she looked from the upper balcony. He'd taken one step back when her head whipped round and her gaze pierced him.

She had lovely eyes, beautiful almond shaped, chocolate brown eyes, set in a delicate heart shaped face with defined cheekbones and a small pointed chin. If her eyebrows hadn't been pulled down in a sharp frown and her jaw hadn't been set, she might have been absolutely beautiful. As it was, Flash took another step back to get away from the daggers shooting out of her eyes.

"Hey!" Flash grinned at her, lifting his arms in the universal peace gesture. "Saw you standing here on your own, figured you'd like a bit of company!"

"I don't." She practically growled the words out, her eyes darting around, checking for anyone else who might have heard.

"Right, well, just checking!" Flash muttered, still grinning, while backing away slowly. "I'm right up there if either of you want anything!" And with a final smile he zipped back up to his chair, where he determined to stay for the rest of the night, away from crazy, talk-to-themselves girls. Even ones that thought he was 'damn cute'.

---

"How long was he standing there?" Jay whispered furiously to herself as she stalked back up to her room. She'd only gone down to the control room for a change in scenery and a few minutes enjoying the wonderful view down there. Just her luck that Flash would be on watch.

"I don't know! But did you feel that jolt when we turned and saw him?" Jay replied to her question, breaking into excited skips for a few steps. "And is it me or is he cuter in real life? Better than on that poster!"

"Could you concentrate for just _one_ minute?" Jay scolded, switching back to angry strides. "What jolt?"

"A huge _slam_, like some force inside us that wanted to just burst out! And I've felt it before!"

"You have?" Jay raised her voice in surprise, unfortunately just as she passed the Question going the other way. His mask was completely blank, of course, but Jay was sure the tilt of his shoulders was one of surprise and curiosity. She shifted her conversation into her mind.

_When have you felt that 'jolt' before?_

_Loads of times. When you spend as much time in the depths of our mind as I do, you get to know some of the more sinister things lurking in there, and that jolt is one of them. _

_I've never felt it before._

_That's because I'm always between you and the back of our mind. But I border the back of our mind and it jumps up and jolts me all the time. Actually, now that I think about it… it's mostly if we're around a picture of Flash. _

_Which happens a lot in Central City. So what's so sinister about this jolt?_

_You mean other than it happened just before we went insane? _

_It did?_

_Of course it did. Remember? We saw a Flash Appreciation Day poster. _

_So what does it mean?_

Jay's mind went a complete blank, a rare occurrence that unfortunately only happened when she'd come across something neither half of her could figure out. Shaking her head, she let herself into her room, and settled down for the night. Whatever it meant, she'd figure it out eventually.


	5. Busted

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Busted**

"I don't care." Jay stood her ground, refusing to move an inch.

"We _have_ to!" Jay ground out between clenched teeth, painfully aware that people were starting to look.

"I'm _not_ going!" Jay anchored her legs and locked her knees. If she tried forcing herself to walk, she'd wind up face flat in the middle of the cafeteria and it would serve her right!

"For crying out loud, it's just for a couple of hours! We need clothes!" Jay yelled at the top of her voice, her fury overcoming her common sense and natural caution. People sitting around the cafeteria of the Watchtower were peering at her, unsure how to respond to a girl shouting at thin air.

"I'm _not_ going back down there!" Jay screamed back at herself, one foot lifting and stamping down to make the point.

Jay clenched her jaw as tight as she could. _Could we please do this somewhere more private?_

_I'm not letting us move until you agree that we're not going back down there. I hate Earth. I don't _ever_ want to go back. _

_I hate it too. But it's just for – _

_No. _

Jay looked around herself desperately. She knew she was a conniving, sneaky bitch, but this just took the cake.

_Fine, you win._

Jay regained control of her legs so fast she nearly fell over anyway. She glanced around at all the curious faces and shot them all a sheepish grin, then turned and hightailed it out of the cafeteria.

_What were you thinking? _

_I was thinking that if I waited to make my point somewhere public, you'd have no choice but to agree with me._

_Well, I agreed with you. Now what do you propose we wear for clothes? Rags?_

_It's called internet shopping. Duh._

_Internet shopping? _Internet shopping?_ That's your great idea? How are we supposed to pay? Do you have a credit card that I don't know about? Do you have a mailing address that I don't know about? I am pretty sure there aren't that many stores that will deliver to "Justice League Watchtower, Outer Space." _

_We're not in outer space. We're in orbit._

Jay stopped in the very centre of the corridor. To her right were the doors to the central control room, and in the periphery of her consciousness she could see J'onn Jonzz, the Martian Manhunter, and Superman making their way out of the door. She barely registered their hesitation as they glanced at her standing stock still in the middle of the corridor. She didn't even notice their expressions as she did what she did next.

"ORBIT? That's all you can say? I am going to KILL you!" Jay screamed as loud as her voice could go, the pitch rising octaves as the sentence went on. She'd been holed up on the watchtower for months, she had no friends, she lived every moment terrified that someone would find out how clinically insane she was and banish her, and all her other half could do was make wisecracks about ORBIT? Her mind went blank, the anger taking over everything, and she did the one thing she strived most of the time to control: she lost her temper.

She delved into her core, where her magic gave her life, and reached for entire fistfuls, letting it flow out to the nearest heavy object and launching it at herself.

Kryptonians, it turned out, were pretty dense objects.

Jay looked up, and saw Superman tumbling through the air towards her, the surprise on his face equal to her own. With a muttered curse she dived out of the way just at the last moment, as Superman crashed to the floor. She could still hear her normally-in-control self raging away in the background, but control of the body was control of the magic, and her usually-sensible self had cleared out of the body so as to avoid the incoming pain.

Jay scrambled to her feet, thinking desperately for explanations. She wasn't generally of the opinion that her insanity in the mall was a good thing, but at least now she could lie and say that she'd lost control again. That would explain Superman being thrown around. But not the yells of "I am going to kill you." That would need some serious story-telling.

_What have I done?_

_Oh, NOW you're worrying about it? Shut up and stay shut, I need to get us out of this mess._

Jay kept as still as she could. Superman had picked himself up off the floor and didn't look very happy. J'onn Jonzz was frowning at her and walking carefully and suspiciously towards her. Jay didn't move, worried that they'd take any movement as another possible attack. Her brain worked furiously as she put on the most innocent and apologetic smile she could manage.

"I am _so_ sorry! I don't know what happened! I was just so angry at myself… I just blanked out and my magic just got away from me. I'm really sorry!"

Superman glared at Jay. "That's a pretty dangerous accident, there. You could have hurt someone, throwing magic around like that."

"I know, and I'm really sorry. Zatanna's teaching me control, and I'm doing a lot better, but sometimes it just… I'm getting better, but I just need some more practice!" Jay fleetingly thought about bursting into tears, but decided that would be a bit much.

_Oh please. You are so pathetic._

_No, I'm saving our hide. _

"I shall discuss your progress with Zatanna. Perhaps there is some protection we can arrange for you." J'onn Jonzz stared down impassively at Jay. She could hardly make out his expression, with his blank orange eyes. It was a little creepy.

"Meanwhile, take care what you're doing with that magic of yours. Don't let it happen again." Superman added as the two of them went on their way, still frowning disapprovingly.

"Oh, I won't. Thanks Superman!" Jay called after them. They'd gathered quite a crowd of superheroes who'd watched the entire spectacle, and for the second time in ten minutes Jay found herself giving a sheepish grin and hightailing it out of there.

---

I hate the other me sometimes. A lot of times, actually. When she riles me up and irritates me for no apparent reason- we're both in here, we're an 'us', why does she always make me want to hurt her? It hurts us both.

Everyone's starting to think we're crazy again. I can tell. It's happening all over again.

I can't believe I threw Superman.

_That was so awesome._

_I thought you were mad at me for doing it._

_You threw _Superman_. How could I possibly be mad at you for doing it? Well, yes for about five minutes I was mad at you, but now I'm just psyched. _

_Oh. Ok. _

Sometimes I don't hate the other me quite so much.

---

Zatanna frowned down at Jay.

"You lost control of your power?" She asked, for the tenth time in a minute.

Jay adopted her most innocent look and nodded sincerely.

"You completely lost control of your power?" Zatanna repeated as she levitated a box and passed it to Jay to levitate. Jay nodded again, and lifted the box higher, spun it a couple of times then deposited it on the top of a pyramid of boxes that she'd been building all morning. While keeping a ball bouncing beside the pyramid. Zatanna wanted her to learn multi-tasking. Since she'd mastered the basics of control, the multi-tasking wasn't all that hard. Each one of her could do about two things at the same time, and together they could usually juggle about five things at once. They'd always been able to share control of their body, if the need arose, but it was a nice surprise to discover they could do the same with magic.

"Could you also start swinging that boxing bag?" Zatanna ordered. Jay nodded and added the task to the ones she was already doing. "And levitate a couple of those mattresses." Jay did as she was told. "Ok, just keep that up for a minute." Zatanna told Jay, then walked round to where Jay couldn't see her.

There was silence for a minute while Jay concentrated on keeping everything going. It got easier as she fell into a pattern of moving everything.

"Incoming!" Zatanna shouted, suddenly. Jay swung round and struck out with her magic at the dumbbell Zatanna had thrown, stopping the weight in mid-air. While holding up a pyramid, bouncing a ball, swinging a boxing bag and levitating mattresses, none of which so much as hesitated in their various activities. Jay felt quite proud of herself.

Zatanna glared at Jay. "You are doing five things at exactly the same time without so much as breaking a sweat and you are trying to tell me that you lost control yesterday?"

Everything crashed down around Jay, the mattresses landing with a series of thumps, the bag swinging to a stop and the pile of boxes crashing down as the ball bounced across the gym.

_Busted._

"Would you like to explain to me what really happened? Why you felt it was necessary to throw Superman around? J'onn had a talk with me yesterday about your control, and I could hardly believe what he was saying. You've got as much control now as you probably ever will have, and it's just a matter of using your magic enough to get used to it now. So what really happened yesterday?"

_You want me to deal with this?_

_Yes, please._

As Zatanna watched Jay did one of her mercurial switches, suddenly relaxing, standing taller, and smiling wider. There was a spark of greater intelligence in her eyes, eyes that seemed to have become a shade or two lighter in the last few seconds. And her expression was far more calculating than it had been before.

"Can we go somewhere a little more private? There's something I have to tell you. And Zatanna?"

"Yes, Jay?"

"You have to promise not to freak out."


	6. Jolts

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Jolts**

It's really quite hectic in the back of our mind. The sensible me has never really understood why I'm always so happy to just sit quietly cooped up in our head, rarely being let out. I'm the extrovert, the one with all the confidence and the cheer, the one who's good at social interaction. I'm the one who has hobbies and passions and crazy ideas, who knows how to have all the fun. But I never clamor to take over our body. She can't handle more than an hour's loss of control, unless she's been knocked out. Then again, that's her job. That's why she's here. To make sure we never lose control. It's why the mall incident hit her so hard. It undermined her very reason for existence.

She doesn't realise how busy it is in here. There's me, that's quite a big chunk of our brain. I have a photographic memory and a lot of time to think. I don't have to deal with our daily life, and I like it that way. I deal with the rest of us.

There's the magic. It's this huge burning core, giving us life, fueling us both. I can't decide if it's nice or not. It doesn't seem to be good or bad, it's just passionate. It passionately wants to do things, to get out and live. That's why the other me has to be so impassionate, distant and indifferent. That's why she has to be sensible all the time. She can't afford to be normal. If she was normal, the magic would have eaten us alive years ago.

And then there are all the things that seem to call to the magic, that make both our lives difficult. They're what I like to call 'jolts' because that's what they feel like, butting at the back of my mind trying to get through, to get out. They don't feel very safe. For example, the Jolt for every time the other me sees the Flash, or a picture of him. It's been getting stronger the longer we've lived in Central City. It seems to be a very angry Jolt. The feeling I get from that jolt is that it wants to get through me to the other me and then it really _really_ wants to turn Flash to ash.

So it's really risky when the other me loses her temper. That's when the Jolt seems to be the strongest. It's like there's something reaching out from deep inside us, trying to get through her control, trying to take over.

There are a whole lot of those jolts. That's what I do. I run interference and I'm trying to figure out what they _are_. They're linked to our magic, and they're linked to her, but I don't know how or why. What I do know is the one time I decided to let a jolt through, we tore apart a mall. I was completely swept aside, I can't remember anything from the moment I decided to let the jolt through till we woke up again.

The other me doesn't know anything about this. She didn't even know about the jolts until I told her about them. Luckily for me, she can't hear me think, unless I think directly at her. It's a good thing for her too, because I spend a lot of time thinking. She'd just get distracted. She doesn't know that though. She thinks I just go to sleep, or something.

I know that because I hear everything that _she_ thinks.


	7. Dialogue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Dialogue**

"Zatanna took that well, don't you think?" Jay asked, having gotten tired of just sitting quietly outside the Justice League meeting room for a good half hour while Zatanna discussed things with some of the other, bigger members of the Justice League. Jay had seen J'onn Jonzz, Superman, Batman and the Flash enter at various points with or after Zatanna.

"No I don't think." Jay mumbled back to herself. "If I had known your idea of 'dealing' would be to tell her that there are two of us, I'd have never let you take over."

"Well, I think they were kind of starting to get a clue, anyway!" Jay snapped at herself.

"You are supposed to be the greatest liar mankind has ever seen, or so you claim. You are seriously telling me you don't think you could have handled it?" Jay replied sarcastically.

"No I don't think I could have handled it! J'onn Jonzz is a _telepath_, you stupid girl! You really think we could have hidden this from him?"

"We could have tried!"

"To what end?"

"So that maybe we'd get to stay up here! So that maybe we wouldn't have to go back down to earth where they'll definitely lock us up in a loony asylum! Any of these seem valid reasons to you?"

"Hey, I don't want to go back down there any more than you do. You think I would have told her if I thought they'd send us away?"

"The majority of the _founding members_ of the _Justice League_ are in there discussing how psychotic we are. All we need is a bloody garish costume and we'd be crazier than the Joker. You think they _won't_ send us away?"

"Why can't you just trust me?"

"Because you're insane."

"And you're talking to yourself."

"I hate you."

---

Superman listened in astonishment to a conversation between a girl and her self. The microphones recording the exchange outside the meeting room were another of Batman's security measures. They didn't generally have them on, but Batman had thought it might be interesting to use them today, in case she did anything unusual. They'd been partway through discussing her situation when she'd struck up the conversation with herself.

It was fascinating, listening to it happen. If you listened hard you could tell the difference between the two of them. The tone and pitch of the voice changed, the emphasis on different words, the different levels of sarcasm, the different ways they expressed things. If he didn't know better Superman would have sworn he was listening to two sisters having an argument.

He looked up into the astounded faces of the other League members. Well, Batman's expression was its usual deadpan, and J'onn had already had a psyche review with her, so he wasn't so surprised, and Flash… Flash was just snickering. But he and Zatanna seemed pretty astounded.

"J'onn, are you sure she's stable?" Superman asked disbelievingly.

"It is strange, but she is often one or the other when speaking to other people. It is only when she is on her own that she indulges in these conversations. I have spoken with both of her, simultaneously, and they both seem very stable. They have a strong relationship with each other."

"And she's a very powerful magician." Zatanna added. "She could certainly be used in the League."

"We have medication for this kind of condition." Batman pointed out. "Can't we treat her for her split personality?"

"I do not think that is wise." J'onn replied, shaking his head. "One has a stronger personality, but is not usually in control. The other has near perfect control on the magic, but I do not think she would be psychologically stable without her 'other self'. Medication might interfere with the balance. As she is, she is sane. Just... different."

"She's been perfectly normal every time I've trained her." Zatanna defended Jay. "She's switched personalities a couple of times, but she only does that rarely."

"And the time she threw me around?" Superman interposed.

"She just had a temper tantrum. She knows better now!" Zatanna responded quickly, playing down Jay's rather volatile temper.

Everyone was silent for a few moments. Then Superman shrugged, and looked to J'onn for the final decision.

J'onn considered for a moment. "She may remain here. It is likely the safest place for her. But she will not be put on the active roster yet. I will continue to monitor her. If she remains stable, we can reconsider. Zatanna, I would appreciate it if you would continue to train her."

"I'd be delighted to." Zatanna agreed.

"That's settled then." Superman announced. "I hope we've made the right choice."

---

"They're letting me stay?" Jay asked Zatanna, incredulously. "Seriously?"

Zatanna nodded. The rest of the big shots in the meeting had sent her out to give Jay the good news while they discussed other saving-the-world things, since they were all there. Zatanna had to admit, she didn't mind the job, especially now that she'd seen the happy astonishment in Jay's chocolate brown eyes. Very little of the emotion was spilling over on to Jay's face, but Zatanna had gotten to know the girl well enough that she could tell Jay was happy.

"But we're going to have to get you properly trained, you know!" Zatanna attempted a stern tone, but a slight note of affection came through all the same. Jay nodded, even managed a slight smile. Zatanna couldn't help but return it. Truly, this girl deserved the chance she was getting.


End file.
